Patterns
by peachy007
Summary: She doesn't realize it's become a pattern; not until Farkle points it out and not until it's spiraled out of her control.
1. Chapter 1

_Note: I had started this story a few years ago, when GMW was still on the air and the Riley-Lucas-Maya triangle was still strong. This takes place during the triangle and before they started high school._

You try to tell yourself that it started innocent enough; light teasing that turned into mild flirting that led to _something else_. You never **meant **for it to **mean **_anything_; he was, after all, interested in your best friend. But, wasn't that how it always was? And, really, how could you blame them? She was sweet and innocent; she wasn't gorgeous, (not yet), but even you could see she alluded a subtle beauty that made her amber eyes twinkle and her chestnut hair shine, and more often than not, when you watched her lips curve into a soft smile, you found your own doing the same, in spite of all efforts to the contrary.

"Charlie Gardner!" You would say in a non-rhotic nineteen-fifties intonation every time you saw him. "Cheese-souffle!"

You had started it as a way to tease your shy best friend, though undoubtedly the sweetest person you had ever met, she was just _so _awkward around boys that you couldn't resist. But then, gradually, you found yourself teasing him, even when she wasn't around.

At first he didn't reciprocate the banter, but as time went by and you had come to terms with the fact that your taunting was very much unrequited, he surprised you and started to play along.

It happened one day in the hall outside of Mr. Matthew's history class. It was your freshman year of high school and you and the gang had Riley's father as your teacher yet again. You and Riley had decided not to try to fight it anymore and chalked it up as kismet; if you had believed in any type of higher being this would have surely been the time you would have denied it's existence and condemned him for being so cruel. It wasn't until much later you had realized that having Mr. Matthews by your side all throughout middle school and high school had actually been a blessing.

This particular Monday was a notably dreary day in mid-November. You remember explicitly because you, Riley, Hop-A-Long, Farkle, and Zay were gathered in front of Riley's locker discussing your plans for Thanksgiving, which was only three days away, and only two and a half days until the start of your break. You, your mom, and Shawn had decided to conjoin your Thanksgiving Day with the Matthews' entire clan at Topanga's for one colossal familial dinner, and to be quite honest, you were kind of excited. You had spent countless holidays with the Matthews's family, which was always _so _great, but this would be the first time in a long time that your mom was not working on a big holiday, and the first time that Shawn would be spending a significant holiday as part of your family. It was a pretty big deal.

Riley had just finished inviting the guys over for desert afterwards, and Lucas and Zay had politely declined.

"I'd love to Riley, but Zay and I will be heading down to Texas Wednesday night for Thanksgiving with our families down south."

Your heart felt a familiar pang of affliction as you noticed the look of guilt in Lucas' eyes as his gaze bore deep into Riley's, and if you were completely honest with yourself, there was a glimpse of reverence in his eyes as well that, as much as you hated to admit it, you knew was reserved solely for your doe-eyed best friend.

You watched Riley turn her gaze quickly from Lucas to the floor as she ran her foot over a scuff mark on the linoleum tile. "Oh." She mumbled.

You cleared your throat. "What's the matter, Huckleberry, store bought turkey ain't good enough for you? You need to fly down to Texas just to shoot your own game?"

You smirked as he groaned and ran a hand through his hair. "I don't talk like that, Maya. And it's not like tha-"

"Hey, Riley." And Charlie Gardner was standing amongst your small little circle. It wasn't that uncommon lately, Charlie had made his feelings for Riley known, though she had turned down any romantic advances on her part, saying she wasn't ready for a relationship.

"Hi, Charlie." Riley gave him a soft smile, and he smiled back. You immediately noticed Lucas tense up and you shot a glance towards Farkle and Zay, who were glancing amid the group nervously.

"Cheese-Souffle!" You announced giddily, trying to break the tension amongst the boys.

For the first time since you had started that custom, Charlie broke his gaze from Riley and looked at you. He never looked at you. But he did this time, and he smiled.

"Belle fille." He said lightly. "I'll bring the pie and pudding en flambe." Riley giggled, Farkle smirked, and Zay and Lucas glanced at each other quizzically. It didn't matter that they didn't understand it, and it didn't matter that Riley and Farkle did. What mattered wasn't just the fact that Charlie Gardner had finally just retorted back to you, it wasn't even the fact that he had just quoted your favorite Disney movie of all time. Now, you didn't know a whole lot of french, but you did know what he called you, and judging by the looks amongst your friends, Farkle was the only other one who picked up on that.

You felt your face flush and you could only imagine the deep crimson tint of your cheeks as you were finally rendered speechless, too shocked to find words to counter the grinning boy in front of you. The first bell broke you out of your head and, continuing the pattern of firsts, you were relieved to be called to first period with Mr. Matthews.

And thus started the complex conjunction of you and Charlie Gardner.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N****: Hi all. Thank you so much for the kind reviews and messages. This was a thought that was in my head for a while, and putting it into a whole story is proving harder than I imagined. I don't intend to have it too long, probably just a few chapters. Bear with me as I try to figure out how to articulate this idea :)**

Riley had finally agreed to become official with Charlie on the Fourth of July of the following summer. She never told you forthright, but you think it had everything to do with Lucas. You watched those two dance around each other more times than you think Shirley Temple danced around Bill Robinson throughout the 1930s.

You watched the hopefulness in your best friend's eyes diminish a little more every time they exchanged "heys", customarily such a simple greeting, but when exchanged between your two friends, it was full of such despair and longing. That killed you more than anything, even more than the reality of knowing Lucas had always, and will _always_, hold Riley in a higher regard than you.

It was Independence Day night and you, Riley, Lucas, Zay, Farkle, and Smackle had made plans to watch the fireworks at the pier at Hudson River, and Charlie had planned to join. It hadn't been uncommon in the last few weeks to have Charlie tag along on occasion, like when Mr. Matthews had gotten several free tickets for the Museum of Modern Art and took you, Riley, Farkle, and Charlie, and then stopped at Ample Hills for ice cream before taking you all home; or when you and Riley wanted to check out the free concert of one of your favorite bands at Central Park and Zay, Farkle, and Charlie had accompanied you. Though he wasn't a regular staple of your group, you had grown somewhat accustomed to his sporadic presence.

You stood next to Riley and Smackle as you watched the boys lay down the giant wool blanket they had brought for you all to sit on. It was about 8:45 and had just gotten dark, though the humidity was still thick from the day's scorcher. You and Riley had both opted for short denim shorts, and while she sported a blue and white striped tank-top with a red cotton shirt tied around her waist for festivity, you settled for an oversized tank top in the colors of the American Flag. Smackle, still experimenting with the throes of normalcy and having a boyfriend, flourished in a festive-colored sundress. The heat of the day had each of you pinning your hair atop your heads, damp from the day's perspiration.

"Guess who?" Your head snapped to the side of you to see Charlie Gardner's hands wrapped around Riley's eyes from behind, and your stomach fluttered for a second before you silently cursed the street tacos you had eaten a couple hours earlier for dinner.

You heard Riley giggle and saw her remove his hands out of the corner of your eye.

"Hi Charlie." Her sweet voice murmured and you heard him reply in kind.

"Hi Riley." Your eyes remained focused ahead, but you could picture the all-too familiar goofy grin that always accompanied that greeting to your best friend, and your mind recalled the sheepish yet endearing undertones of that expression between not only Riley and Charlie but Riley and Lucas as well. It baffled you at how such a simple word (_**hi**_) could hold so much _weight_.

Your attention swiftly focused on Lucas in front of you, who had finished straightening out the blanket with Zay and Farkle and was standing upright in front of you, body stiff and jaw clenched.

You could physically feel the tension mix with the humidity of the night with such intensity that it felt suffocating, and so you braved an observation aloud to lessen the friction.

"I think the fireworks are about to start. We should get ready. Farkle? Hopalong?" You looked at Farkle pointedly, if for nothing else than for support. He gave a brief nod.

"Lucas, I brought those Oreos you asked me to bring, they're in the cooler."

You watched as Lucas' narrowed eyes broke slowly away from Charlie and advanced to Farkle.

"Thanks, buddy." His voice was clipped and you watched him walk to the cooler and grab the package of red, white, and blue Oreos before dropping heavily on the ground next to Zay.

You breathed a quiet sigh of relief before gently grabbing Riley's hand and pulling her to the ground next to you, Charlie promptly occupying the space to her other side. Farkle and Smackle took the space in front of you. You watched Farkle wrap an arm around Smackle's waist, and she leaned affectionately into his shoulder. You weren't one for being mushy, but even you felt the curve of a smile as you watched the two most mechanical people you know engage in such a tender moment together.

At some point during the fireworks show, you noticed the space beside you was empty and you briefly wondered how long you had been oblivious to the vacancy. Riley and Charlie had gotten up without you noticing, not to be seen with a cursory glance of the surrounding area.

It was only as the booming and whistling grew louder and the colors in the sky increased with such rapidity that could only be recognized as the finale, that Riley showed up again beside you. You glanced at her and noted a ghost of a smile, though it wasn't quite convincing, you couldn't pinpoint why. Charlie was sitting beside her again, with a dopey grin. Riley noticed you looking at her and gave you a Riley smile and you smiled back, grabbing her hand as you both finished watching the end of the display.

You and Riley had gotten back to her place for the night an hour later. Charlie had bid farewell at the pier, giving Riley a chaste hug before bounding away to collect his sisters. You briefly thought to yourself that it was strange you had never seen them engage in that way before, but quickly dismissed the fleeting thought. The walk back to the Matthews' was quiet, with Lucas and Zay abnormally hushed and lagging behind, before they broke off to finish the trek back to their own neighborhood in another direction. Farkle continued walking you and Riley back to the Matthews', long after walking Smackle to her own door and leaving her with a modest kiss goodnight.

"Farkle, you don't have to walk us home. We've already passed your street." You had told him, suddenly aware at how far out of the way he was trekking.

"I don't mind. I never mind." He stated, matter of factly.

And he was right, he did always walk you home, regardless of whether or not Lucas or Zay accompanied him, it was _always _atleast Farkle.

"Thank you, Farkle." Riley had cooed sincerely, and you could see her eyes were somewhere far away.

And now, your best friend was sitting beside you on your sacred bay window. Her eyes were dull and she twisted her hands together upon her lap.

"Charlie asked me to be his girlfriend." Her voice was soft, void of her usual vigor.

"Yeah, yeah. What else is new." You waved your hand dismissively. You would need more than just your two hands to count just how many times Riley had told you Charlie asked her out. And, to Riley's credit, she _had _gone out with him. Several times. Though it never evolved into anything more, you silently commended Charlie's persistent efforts to woo your best friend.

"I said yes." This time you were slightly floored. Strike that, you were _completely _floored. Stunned.

"Wh-what? _Charlie_? Riles, he's been asking you out for years. Why did you say yes _now_?"

Riley looked at you, her big brown eyes watery, and gave you a rueful smile. It was at that moment you realized that what you had trouble identifying in Riley's smile earlier that night was just a _shred _of wistfulness.

You had always kind of thought Riley was going to hold out for Lucas to be her first official boyfriend. In a way, you felt partly responsible that the two of them had never come into fruition. There had been an unspoken triangle of pining and confusion between the three of you since the _8th grade_, and although Lucas had finally made his official decision by _not _deciding between the two of you in order to preserve your friendships, there was still a tension that lingered in the air whenever the three of you were together.

"Because, he's a nice guy. And why _not_?"

That night, as you laid next to Riley and struggled to find sleep, you felt like the wind was knocked out of you and you had no idea why.


End file.
